Part 44 (2/2)

675. _The person of active habits requires less clothing than one of sedentary employments._ Exercise increases the circulation of the blood, which is always attended by the disengagement of a greater quant.i.ty of heat; consequently, an increase of warmth is felt throughout the system. We likewise need more clothing while riding, than when we are walking; because the exercise of the former is less than that of the latter. The same is true when resting in the field or shop, after laborious exercise.

_Observation._ We need a greater amount of clothing while asleep, than during the day; as not only the action of the body, but that of the brain, during sleep, is suspended.

676. _Less clothing is required when the cutaneous surface is clean._ A film of impurities obstructs the perspiratory ducts, and diminishes the action of their glands; consequently, less heat is generated. For this reason, the hands or feet when clean are less liable to become chilled or frozen.

677. _The sensitiveness of the skin to the influence of cold, is much modified by habit._ A person who has been habituated to the temperature of a warm room, or warm climate, suffers more when exposed to cold, than an individual who has been accustomed to colder air.

Thus a person who labors or studies in a warm room, should wear more clothing when exposed to the air, while walking or riding, than an individual who labors in a cooler atmosphere. Not only is the sensibility of the skin increased by a warm atmosphere, but the activity of the digestive, respiratory, and nervous systems, in generating heat, is much diminished. This is an additional reason why an increased amount of clothing is demanded during exposure to cold air. In all cases where practicable the heat of the system should be maintained by exercise, in preference to the use of fur or flannel.

675. Why does the person of active habits require less clothing than one of sedentary employments? 676. Why do we need less clothing when the skin is clean? 677. Show the effect of habit on the sensitiveness of the skin.

678. _Those parts of the skin usually covered, uniformly need that protection._ The power of generating heat is diminished, and the impressibility to cold is increased, on those portions of the skin usually clothed. If a person wears the dress high and close about the neck, he suffers from exposure to a cold atmosphere if a dress is worn that is not as high or more open. As a general rule, it is preferable that those parts of the system, as the larynx, be exposed that are not uniformly protected by clothing.

679. _The clothing should be kept clean._ No article of apparel is entirely free from absorption; even wool and cotton possess it in a small degree. They take up a portion of the transpired fluids which contain saline and animal matter, and thus the fibres of the garments become covered with the cutaneous excretions. We are practically aware of the retention of these secretions from the soiled appearance of those garments worn next the skin, which are so covered as to preclude the particles of dust from lodging upon them.

680. The porosity of the clothing is lessened when soiled, and its power of conducting heat from the system in consequence, is increased.

The residual matter with which the clothing is coated is brought in contact with the skin, which causes irritation, and not unfrequently re-absorption of the elements, thrown off from the system through this avenue. Hence warmth, cleanliness, and health require that the clothing, particularly the garments worn next to the skin, should be frequently and thoroughly washed. This should not be forgotten in regard to children, for their blood circulates with greater rapidity than that of adults, and a proportionably greater amount of waste matter is thrown off from their systems.

681. _The under-garments worn during the day should not be worn at night, or the reverse._ When under-garments are worn several successive days or nights, they should not be put in drawers, or hung up in a close closet, as soon as taken from the body, but should be exposed to a current of air.

682. _Occupied beds should be thoroughly aired in the morning._ The excretions from the skin are most abundant during the hours of sleep; and if the sheets and blankets, together with the bed, are not aired every morning, by being so arranged that both surfaces may be exposed to the air, the materials eliminated from the skin will be retained in the meshes of the bed-clothing, and may be conveyed into the system of the next occupant, by absorption. Oftentimes diseases of a disagreeable nature are contracted in this way. This fact should be instilled into every mother's and daughter's mind.

_Observation._ Bed-linen should not be put on a bed when it is not sufficiently dried, or contains moisture from the excretions of the skin, nor should beds or bedding be slept in, that have remained in a damp room that has not been occupied for many weeks, unless the dampness is removed from the bed-linen by a warming-pan, or in some other way.

683. _Changes of dress, from thick to thin, should always be made in the morning._ At this time the vital powers are usually in full play.

Many a young lady has laid the foundation of a fatal disease, by disregarding this rule, in exchanging the thick dress, with woollen stockings, for the flimsy dress and hose of silk or cotton, which are considered suitable for the ball-room or party. Sudden changes in wearing-apparel, as well as in food and general habits, are attended with hazard; and this is proportionate to the weakness or exhaustion of the system when the change is made.

681. Should the garments worn during the day be worn at night? 682.

What is said respecting the cleanliness of beds and bedding? Why should not bed-linen that is damp be slept in? 683. When should change of dress from thick to thin be made? Why?

684. _When the clothing has become wet, it is best to change it immediately._ The skin should then be rubbed with a dry crash towel, until reaction, indicated by redness, is produced. If the garments are not changed, the person should exercise moderately, so that sufficient heat may continue to be generated in the system to dry the clothing and skin without a chill. Sitting in a cool shade, or current of air, should, by all means, be avoided; as colds are not contracted by free and excessive exercise, but by injudicious management after such exercise.

_Observation._ When an individual has been thrown into a profuse perspiration by violent exercise, though the skin and clothing may become wet, he feels no inconvenience from the dampness, as long as he continues that amount of exercise for the reason that the circulation of the blood being increased heat is generated in sufficient quant.i.ty to replace the amount abstracted from the system in evaporating the free perspiration; but as soon as the exercise is discontinued, the increased circulation subsides, and with it the extra amount of generated heat. This accounts for the chill we experience, when the damp clothing is permitted to dry on the body, after the cessation of exercise.

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